José Hugo Sánchez: Amoxtlis

Amoxtlis—the Nahuatl word for “codices”—centers Sánchez’s large-scale printmaking practice, which draws from the visual language of Mesoamerican codices while engaging the cultural and political conditions of the U.S.–Mexico border. At the heart of the installation is Codex Tonalpohualli, a series of towering printed banners that reference the twenty day signs of the divinatory calendar of the sun. In this calendar, time unfolds through cycles of thirteen days associated with birth and renewal. Sánchez translates this structure into an immersive environment: carved wooden codices are printed in red and black ink on monumental sheets of paper measuring sixteen feet high. Suspended from ceiling to floor, the banners surround the viewer, creating a dense vertical landscape that evokes a forest of signs and symbols. The exhibition also includes video work, eight large-scale carved wooden sculptures, and a mural created on the gallery wall during the exhibition’s run. These elements extend Sánchez’s exploration of narrative image-making across multiple forms, from print and sculpture to moving image and architectural intervention. Throughout the installation, references to popular culture intersect with mythic imagery and historical forms of knowledge transmission.

California Center for the Arts, Escondido
340 North Escondido Boulevard
Escondido, CA 92025